India's IT Rules Amendment May Mandate Compliance with Government Advisories

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is poised to separately notify amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. A new provision, Rule 3(4), would obligate online intermediaries to adhere to the ministry's clarifications, advisories, directions, standard operating procedures, and codes of practice. Failure to comply could result in legal consequences.

The provision was initially part of proposed amendments to the IT Rules released for public consultation on March 30. A government official indicated that a separate notification is being considered to expedite the commencement of compliance.

This amendment would integrate MeitY's advisories and directions into the due diligence obligations of intermediaries under Section 79 of the IT Act. Consequently, platforms could lose their safe harbour protection for user-generated content if they fail to comply. This expands the ramifications of MeitY-issued notices, potentially increasing pressure on platforms to follow government instructions without formal orders.

Experts have expressed concerns that this change could give MeitY's advisories the force of law by linking compliance to safe harbour status. There are warnings that this could impact businesses beyond social media, and that evolving legal rules may pose challenges for operations and affect online user expression.